Le Cercle Rouge (1970)

Rialto Pictures | Release Date: January 10, 2003

8.2	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 37 Ratings

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CalibMcBoltsMay 30, 2016

i wanted to like this movie. i really did. but in the end, it just didn't hold up to other good, similar genre movies of the same time period. I had a major problem with the decisions of the characters in the film. Also the movie is not tighti wanted to like this movie. i really did. but in the end, it just didn't hold up to other good, similar genre movies of the same time period. I had a major problem with the decisions of the characters in the film. Also the movie is not tight enough. Overall the storyline is weak. it just didn't have that hook, that special intangible aspect to make it a cool movie. It was just sort of bland and the acting was just decent in my opinion except for yves montand of course.

A main problem of mine was how vogel and corey met in the first place. That whole scene was just too much to be coincidental. I didn't buy it at all. In fact I thought the entire thing had been arranged beforehand somehow, which would have made a way better plot line. But to tell me that vogel is running, checks the trunks of all the cars and just happens to find corey's open is too much. And then corey, a man just released from prison, goes right along with it without skipping a beat.

This movie is just a long, slow, weaker version of Rififi. What is most bothersome is that instead of the crooks being cool and crafty, they are lame and blundering. No wonder the movie starts out with them captured or in jail-- I'm not surprised (and they ended up dead-- duh, saw that coming)!

Other ridiculous things:
"Hey I just got out of jail-- how about I buy a car with dirty money from a rival criminal?!"
"Hey, let's recruit the new gang member at a known hangout for gangsters!"
"Hey, we can poorly tie up the guard right next to the alarm button!"
"Hey, let's leave the rope ladder with our fingerprints all over it hanging from the roof of the jewelry shop!"
"Hey, let's steal millions in jewelry and have ONE possible buyer for it all!"
I could go on and on... (continuing with the fact that the tip of this "easy heist" came from a POLICE GUARD!).

Yves Montand actually is the onlycharacter that's interesting with any sort of depth in this entire movie. And at least he's not stupid enough to die by getting SHOT IN THE BACK while RUNNING AWAY!

Le Cercle Rouge is an interesting film to have seen, but i have no intention in rewatching it. It's way to dry to be entertaining or interesting. Melville's other work Le Samourai, is one of my favorite movies of all time though… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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SteveK.Jan 13, 2006

The transfer is pristine, the story is intriguing and, in it's genre, it's an absolute top rank example. What's not to love?

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JMHMay 7, 2012

Melville's impeccably constructed, paced, and plotted "Le cercle rouge" is the antithesis of overblown, contemporary Hollywood crime thrillers. And for the better in every sense. Hollywood may have rotted your mind leaving you without theMelville's impeccably constructed, paced, and plotted "Le cercle rouge" is the antithesis of overblown, contemporary Hollywood crime thrillers. And for the better in every sense. Hollywood may have rotted your mind leaving you without the attention span to take in such a film. But if it's not, or if you have a glimmer of hope it's not, watch this film. Melville's deliberate storytelling zooms in on the essence of the escape, the chase, and the heist; on criminals, other sordid figures, and cops. Everything the viewer needs and wants to know is spun out carefully and grippingly. There's not an explosion every 3 minutes in this film. There's no faux suspense. There are no fast-paced, quick thrills. Yet every moment of "Le cercle rouge" is richly absorbing crime drama of the highest order.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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EpicLadySpongeAug 31, 2016

Le Cercle Rouge does what no other movie has done in the beginning of 2003. They managed to release this bad dog to the theaters and it's still amazing to this very day and it still will be even if you say it won't.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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